Dark Star, Dark Flower
by Animecrazy13ify
Summary: Raven discovers an ancient zoidian girl in some ruins. What will he do with her? I suck at summaries. Please give it a chance!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Raven was bored. Very bored. They were practically on top of Chronos Fortress and there still hadn't been an opponent worth his time. All the Republicans were throwing at him were Gordoses and Terrases. One minute was all it took to take those stupid Zoids out.

And so now… He and Shadow were just wandering around aimlessly in the middle of nowhere. There were, no bases, no cities, nothing. Just endless cliffs. So boring.

_God. I'm almost wishing Van was around. Ugh, _thought Raven sulkily. Suddenly, he heard Shadow growl.

"You got something Shadow?" Raven asked his Organoid, sincerely hoping it was a base. But for some reason, Shadow was just growling at a cave in the cliff face.

"Come on, Shadow. I don't have time to-" Raven stopped mid sentence. He narrowed his eyes and realised that the opening in the cliff face wasn't a cave but a doorway. As he examined it more thoroughly he noticed that there were strange symbols carved all over the rock wall.

"Hmmm. An ancient ruin. Well, might as well check it out, seeing as there's nothing else to do." The boy muttered. He opened the Zaber Fang's cockpit canopy and almost yelped when he discovered how cold it was outside. Obviously the sun didn't warm the air down here.

Raven rummaged around behind his seat and got out his black cloak, which he promptly wrapped around his shoulders. He then jumped down and started out towards the doorway. Shadow obediently followed him.

It was truly freezing in the ruin and quite dark too. Raven went up to a wall and examined it. There were pictures of people, no doubt Ancient Zoidians, on their knees worshipping what looked like person surrounded by a ring of light. A gust of wind blew in from outside making the temperature drop even more.

"Why scientists do this every day is beyond me." He grumbled and turned to leave. But as he turned his hand brushed up against a strange bump in the wall and… a section of wall rose up into the roof. Raven peered in curiously. There was a long dark passageway stretching out into the darkness.

"Oooh. Spooky secret passageway." Said Raven with a smirk, and he entered. Shadow scuttled after him.

The Organoid's metallic footsteps echoed off the walls of the tunnel loudly. There were no markings on the wall in this passage. Up ahead, Raven could see another doorway. This one lead into a pitch-black room. Raven tried to adjust his eyes to the gloom but the darkness was just too absolute. He looked back towards the tunnel and saw a small blue light glowing on the wall.

He moved over to it. When he was right up next to it he realised it was a button. And the power was still on. Strange. Without thinking, he pressed it.

Lights on the ceiling flickered on, casting a warm yellow glow to every corner of the room. And right in the centre of the room, were two glowing green capsules.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Raven stared at the capsules. The last time he'd seen these things was five years ago when…

He stopped himself. He didn't want to think about that awful time right now. To distract himself he started to circle the capsules. There were numerous multi-coloured wires stretching up into the roof and spanning across the floor. Raven stopped circling and listened for a moment. He could hear a heartbeat. He moved up to one of the capsules. He couldn't see anything in it.

He stepped back and studied the capsule. There was usually a button on the side that activated it. Sure enough, there was a small electric blue button on the side. Just as Raven was about to press it he hesitated. Should he open this thing up?

_What the hell am I worrying about? If it is some bloodthirsty psycho-beast Organoid then I'll just get Shadow to take care of it. _And without further hesitation, he pressed the button.

The capsule glowed white and he could hear the heartbeat get faster. The glowing lasted for about five seconds before the capsule's glass exploded outwards. Steam gushed into the air and the room's temperature rose by at least seven degrees. The steam gradually started to clear away. Raven expected to see an Organoid stretched out on the floor. Instead, he saw a girl.

She looked to be only a few months younger than him. She had pitch-black hair and impossibly pale skin. Her eyes opened and Raven saw that they were dark purple, much darker then his eyes. They stared at each for a while; Raven in awe, the girl curious. Slowly she started to rise out of the wires. And Raven saw she was naked.

With a yelp he spun on his heel away from her. Thinking fast he unbuttoned his cloak and threw it in her general direction.

"Use that to cover yourself…" he mumbled, and couldn't stop the blush creeping onto his face. He heard the swish of the cloak's fabric and then the tiniest of clicks as she did up the button. He risked a peek over his shoulder and was relieved to see that the cloak was firmly done up around her neck and draped all the way around her body and down to her knees. He turned and faced her properly.

She stood only a few centimetres shorter then himself. Her hair, he now saw, was long, stretching down to the middle of her back. Her dark eyes were regarding him suspiciously. That suspicious gaze was intense. Raven felt like he was being x-rayed.

He was about to avert his gaze when he remembered himself. _I won't back down to this girl, _he thought, and kept eye contact with her. She raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Then she spun on her heel and walked over to the other capsule. She pressed the button on its side and it immediately started glowing. The glass broke, with a much more explosive force then the last one, and out tumbled an Organoid.

Raven gasped. Because the Organoid was almost identical to Shadow.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Organoid's eyes were purple. That was the only difference. They matched its mistress's eyes perfectly. They flashed suddenly and the Organoid sprang up, roaring. The girl didn't move. The two regarded each other for a moment, before the Organoid bent its head and allowed the girl to pat it. For the first time since he had met her, the girl smiled.

"That's a good girl, Mystery." she murmured. Raven raised an eyebrow. So her Organoid's name was Mystery. It suited it. Raven stopped staring at the strange duo and addressed the girl.

"Excuse me, but can you tell me your name?" he asked. The girl turned to him and fixed him with an ice cold stare. She seemed to be studying him.

_Probably __asking herself whether I'm trustworthy or not, _thought Raven to himself. A minute passed before she murmured, "Moulin."

Raven nodded acknowledgement. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and saw that the two Organoids were circling each other and letting out quiet, low growls. Raven shook his head and turned back to Moulin.

"Do you want to come with me? It's cold in here and we're about sixty miles from the nearest town so how about you and your friend tag along. I'll drop you off near the closest town. Sound alright?" he asked. Surprise showed on Moulin's face before she slowly replied, "Alright."

Without further ado, Raven turned on his heel and walked back towards the corridor. He stopped briefly to check to see if Moulin was following. She was, lagging behind him with Mystery. Feeling satisfied he turned and started walking again. Suddenly he frowned and thought about what he was doing. With a jolt, he realised he was being nice. _Nice._ To a complete stranger. He turned to regard her again. She was examining the walls. It was only then he realised that he had missed one of the key features that made up her face. A long scar trailed down her face, from just above her left eyebrow, all the way down to the middle of her left cheek. She caught him looking and scowled at him. He hastily turned away. Her eye seemed to be in perfect condition so whatever had scarred her must have luckily missed the eyeball.

They broke out into the main corridor and made their way outside. The minute Moulin laid her eyes on his Zaber Fang, she gasped. He turned to her, curious.

"You've never seen one of these before?" he asked.

"No, of course I've seen one before. I'm just surprised they're still around." she snapped back at him. Raven shrugged and watched as the Zaber Fang crouched down for its master. The cockpit opened and he climbed up. He turned around to see if Moulin needed any help and was just in time to see her leap nimbly off the ground and land softly next to him. His eyebrows were just about to shoot before he caught himself. He was _not _going to be impressed by this girl. He was just jumping in when he saw her flash him a smug little grin. For some reason it made him extremely furious.

_Little Viper! _he thought angrily. He clicked his safety belt into place and then shut the cockpit. It clicked shut, and Raven thought it was like it was finalising something. He shrugged off the feeling and drove the Zaber Fang out of the canyon and into the desert with the Organoids following close behind.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The silence in the cockpit was heavy and awkward. Raven concentrated on piloting and Moulin just sat in the back seat staring out the window. By the time the canyons had vanished from sight, the sun was starting to dip below the horizon, and Raven could just see the two moons coming into visibility. They would have to stop soon. And they hadn't even reached the town yet!

_Gah! Why does this has to happen to me? I don't exactly want to spend and night in the desert with her. _Raven thought to himself, feeling quite peeved. He slowed the Zaber Fang down and then stopped all together. He turned to tell his passenger that they were making camp, and he saw that she was asleep. She had her head resting lightly on her shoulder, and a few strands of black hair were draped across her face. With her eyes closed she looked quite peaceful. The overall effect was very beautiful.

_No! No, no! I am **not **getting feelings for her! _he scolded. He suddenly felt quite claustrophobic and hastily opened the cockpit and jumped out. He landed gracefully in the soft sand and paced the length of the Zoid three times with his head in his hands. Still unable to shake the claustrophobia, he stupidly went ahead and banged his head up against the Zaber Fang's leg. It hurt a lot more then he had anticipated.

"Ow, ow, ow..." he mumbled moving away from the Zoid. Both Organoids were staring at him with throughly confused expressions on their faces. He shot them both a scathing glare and they looked away.

"Uh... Are you alright?" a voice called to him. He looked up and saw Moulin staring down at him from the cockpit. She too was looking throughly confused.

"I'm fine!" he snapped back, moving further away. He heard a soft crunch as she landed on the ground. She moved swiftly over to the Organoids and started stroking Mystery's snout. Raven watched her closely and was surprised to see love in her eyes as she petted her small Zoid. He shook his head in disgust. How could anyone feel _love _for those things. They were weapons for crying out loud!

"So... Why did you hit your head like that?" the girl asked casually, still looking at the Oraganoid. Raven jolted.

"So, you saw that then?" he murmured embarrassedly. Moulin nodded. Raven was about to reply when he just saw the faintest flash of amusement in her eyes. This made him furious once again.

_Oh no. I'm not playing your games little viper. _he seethed before saying out loud, "Are you hungry?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

After the meal, Raven poured some coffee and handed some to Moulin. As it turned out, she liked her coffee to be scalding hot like he did. They sat in silence, staring into the flames of the portable stove. Finally, Moulin broke the silence.

"You never told me your name." she said icily. Raven looked over at her.

"It's Raven." he replied. Moulin smiled coldly.

"That name suits you. But it's not your real name, is it?" Raven started. How could she know that? After a moment he replied slowly, "I don't know what my real name is."

"Hey, I don't care what your real name is. Just so long as I've got something to call you by. So what do you do for a living?" said Moulin lightly. Raven frowned.

"You seem to know a lot about the human world, seeing as you were in that pod." he said accusingly.

"I remember quite a bit from my past life. But nothing important though..." she replied a little sadly.

Raven pondered this for a while before saying, "I'm an assassin for the imperial army."

"Huh. I was an assassin too. I can't remember which army I worked for though." she replied. Raven raised an eyebrow. So he was in the presence of a fellow killer.

_I wonder what else I should know about this girl. _he thought. Suddenly, Moulin stood and moved over to her Organoid and lay down next to it. Raven raised an eyebrow and thought, _Well I guess that means conversation's over._ Following her lead, he stood up and moved up to the cockpit. He looked down at the girl and threw his cloak down. It landed next to her, and after a moment she dragged it over and covered herself. He stared at her a moment longer before curling up in the seat and shutting his eyes.

* * *

Moulin stared up at the cockpit. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was there and asleep. She wondered about him. Why did he have a false name? Why was he an assassin for this 'imperial army'? Did he have any family? And most importantly... She looked over at the other black Organoid, curled up near the Zaber Fang's leg. Where did he get his Organoid?

She smirked and then lay down again. _You're an interesting one Raven, _she thought, before drifting into a light sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

As the sun rose, the Zaber Fang moved off towards the closest town. They had both risen early and eaten quickly. And now they were making good progress across the desert. Raven was looking forward to getting rid of this strange girl. There was just something about her that made him feel... Not himself.

Suddenly, the communication light started flashing. With a sigh he flicked the accept switch and the voice of Captain Marcus came crackling over the line.

"Raven? Come in Raven! Where are you? Raven!" the Captain practically shouted. With another sigh, Raven replied, "I'm in the desert."

"_Where _in the desert?!"

"Somewhere."

"We need you to get over here right now! Lord Prozen has assigned you a new task! Now hurry."

"I'll be there soon. I have..." Raven glanced over his shoulder at Moulin, who was looking at him curiously, "Something to drop off first."

"I don't care about that! Just get-" Raven cut off the Captain's voice with the flick of a switch. He had always found Marcus annoying and too much of a teacher's pet, constantly sucking up to Prozen.

"Who was that?" asked Moulin.

"Someone in the army." he replied. This seemed to be enough of an answer for her, because she turned her head and continued to gaze out the window.

* * *

"Why are you stopping?" asked Moulin a few minutes later.

"Because the town is just over that dune." Raven replied whilst he steered the Zaber Fang into a crouch behind the said dune. Once that was done he opened the canopy and stood up. Moulin stood up also.

"Why don't we just take the Zaber Fang the rest of the way? It will be a lot faster." she asked as they jumped down.

"Taking a military Zoid into a village isn't the best idea. It will only cause panic."

Moulin was silent at this, and they started their ascent of the dune. The next minute, the town came into view. It was very small, only two streets across and three streets wide. It was just one of the little desert settlements that sprung up everywhere after the ceasefire was initiated. Without another word, Raven started off towards the town with Moulin trailing a little bit behind.

"Try not to draw too much attention to yourself," he said suddenly, as they drew close, "It will only get you reported to the army. I'll give you enough money to buy some food and get a ride into a bigger town. From then on, you're on your own."

"Wouldn't it just be easier to hand me over to the army? I know that a Minister Prozen is looking for Ancient Zoidians and Organoids."

Raven frowned before replying, "How did you find that out?"

"I read the papers you had in the sleeve in the back seat."

Raven spun around on her furiously. She raised an eyebrow.

"That... Is..._ Classified!"_ he hissed. She merely shrugged and walked past him. He turned around and began to walk after her.

_That little viper! How dare she read classified stuff like that! Hmmm... She'd make a good spy. _he thought. He then shook his head and caught up with her. And together, they entered the town.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Wow!" exclaimed Moulin as they walked down the main street, "There are so many people!"

Raven raised an eyebrow. There were only about thirty people on the entire street, including the shop owners. Not exactly what he called _so many people._ As he looked around, her noticed that Moulin was drawing stares from these few passers by and with a jolt realised that she was still merely dressed in the travelling cloak he'd given her. Without hesitation he grabbed her arm. She gave a little yelp of indignation, but he took no notice of her and dragged her to the nearest clothes store. Once inside he let go of her.

"What was that for?!" she snapped at him.

"We needed to get you some clothes." he replied simply and gestured around him. She looked at him quizzically.

"Take your pick. I'll pay for it." he said, and leant up against the wall.

* * *

About ten minutes later, they were back out on the street with Moulin looking even better then she did before. She had chosen some black pants and a grey t-shirt. Over the top of the shirt she wore a long black coat with a large hood, that she had down at the moment. Along with that she chose a pair of black travelling boots and a pair of black gloves that only completely covered her pointer finger. She had also bought some black hair ties that she had used to tie her hair up into two long pony tails, on the top of either side of her head.

"What are you staring at?" she asked Raven sharply after catching him looking. He shrugged and looked away.

There wasn't really anything very interesting in this town, and Moulin didn't seem to want to stop to see anything, so before they knew it, they had reached the edge of the town. Both of them stared out at the vast expanse of desert and then turned to each other.

"Alright," he said, "I'm going to leave you here. I'll give you enough money to last for a week. My advise is to find a ride and get to Guygalos as quickly as possible. You'll have a better chance there."

"What's Guygalos?" she asked.

"The capital of the empire." he replied simply. After staring at each other Raven nodded and turned to leave when something blew past his line of vision. He turned to track it and saw that whatever it was had become tangled in Moulin's hair, and she was now trying to get it out. Without thinking, he reached over to her and pulled it out. It was a Darkstar Flower. It's petals were pitch black and arranged in the shape of a ten pointed star around a silver centre.

_It reminds me a bit of her, _he thought, looking up. Moulin was staring at the flower like he was. It was this look of curiosity, he would think later, that made him melt.

"How about you stick with me?" he sighed, and her eyes shined as she looked up at him.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The sand dunes whipped by as the Zaber Fang ran towards the horizon. With the engines going at full, Raven hoped to reach Guygalos just after sunset. He wasn't really sure what made him take Moulin with him, but she was here now and he couldn't just dump her in the middle of the desert. He frowned at this last thought and said to himself quietly, "Come on. You've done it before with all those poor bastards you've disabled. You didn't use a wink of sleep then."

"What was that?" asked Moulin, peering over the headrest.

"Nothing. Just talking to myself." he replied.

"Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness." said Moulin with a smirk, "I probably would start regretting that I came with you if I find out you're crazy."

_The little viper! _he thought furiously, whirling on her. She paid no heed to the boy's death glare and simply sat back in her seat, chuckling. Raven paused for a minute before thinking, _God, before I know it I'll be nicknaming this girl Little Viper._ Shaking his head he turned away from her and focused on the desert ahead. The sun had almost completely set by now, and he could just see the artificial glow on the horizon that marked Guygalos. Moulin seemed to notice it too, because she sat forward in her seat again and asked, "Is that the place we're going?"

"Sort of. We're actually heading to a place just outside of the city." he replied. Moulin gave him a look like she wanted him to elaborate, so he continued, "We'll be going to Prozen's residence. When we get there..." he paused as a thought came to him, "I'd kind of prefer it if you stayed out of sight."

"Why?" asked Moulin, frowning.

"Well... It's just that you're an Ancient Zoidian, and the last girl like you... Well, Prozen wanted to find out more about your people, so he ran some tests on her. And, well, he did too many tests, and so now she has about as much personality as a doll." Raven explained, shuddering at the memory of the girl, who was now one of his colleagues.

"And would you be sad if that happened to me?" asked Moulin lightly. Raven, surprised at the question, turned and stared at her. Her purple eyes were trying to read him, he could tell. The rest of her face was serious, like she was deeply concentrated on something. She looked very lovely.

_No. **No. **No falling for the random girl you found in the ruins. _he thought angrily, and turned away.

"Well? Would you?" she said, more pressingly. Raven thought for a moment before saying, "I wouldn't be sad. I just don't want to see it happen to anyone else."

Moulin looked thoughtful before smiling a queer smile and settling back into her seat.

_This should be interesting, _she thought, as the last ray of sunlight vanished from the night sky.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"I need you to stay here, be quiet and stay out of sight." Said Raven quietly to Moulin while they crouched down behind a blue rhododendron bush. They were crouched close to the wooden fence of the not-so-small garden outside the Guard Dogs' quarters. A little way off through the trees, Raven could just make out the veranda of his home. He, along with April, had gotten the view of the rhododendron garden while the other two had gotten the view of the pond and the gardenia garden. In his opinion, his view looked better in the summer.

"How long will you be gone?" asked Moulin quietly. Raven shrugged and replied, "I'll call you when I've talked to the others, alright?"

"Who are the others?" asked Moulin. Raven sighed irritably. She seemed particularly inquisitive today.

"My coworkers. Three girls. Their names are Akito, Maylene and Ruolang." He replied. Moulin's face broke out in a grin and she whispered to him, "Three girls huh? You must have all _sorts_ of fun with them."

Raven blushed furiously at what she was implying and stormed off without another word. The little viper! How dare she make fun of him like that! The girls were _coworkers _and NOTHING ELSE! Still scowling, he threw open the veranda door and stomped into the building.

* * *

The corridor was quiet. No one except the four Guard Dogs and a couple of servants came to this part of the regent's estate. And nobody was really inclined to come here, given the nature of its residents.

"I'm not sure whether it's just me, but you seem to be in a blacker mood then usual." said a cold voice behind Raven, making him jump. He turned and looked up into the blank face of Akito, codename Sword Dancer. She was at least fifteen centimetres taller then he was, her skin was incredibly pale, her black hair was shoulder length and shaggy, and her navy blue eyes were as cold and calculating as always. The sword that had earned her her codename was in a sheath strapped to her waste. This girl was one of the few people in the world who could intimidate him.

"I'm always like this." he snapped at her. She shrugged and then gave him and questioning look. She knew something was going on.

"Where's Heaven Eyes?" he asked before she could ask anything of him.

"I'm right here." said a voice behind him. He turned to see a girl a little younger then him standing in the doorway of her room. Her eyes were a bright, sparkling blue and her long flaming red hair was tangled. She had obviously tried to tackle these tangles seeing that she was holding hair brush that had enough red hair caught in it he could've made a basket. Unlike Akito, this girl wasn't dressed in regular assassins uniform. She was wearing a navy blue dress and no shoes. Prozen had always disapproved of the girl's fashion sense, saying that it was not practical enough for someone in her line of work, which was true enough. The girl in question was Maylene, codename Heaven Eyes.

"You're back from assignment." stated Akito. Maylene nodded with a smile.

"What was it this time?" asked Raven.

"Some weapons dealer who had started leaking information to the Republic. I got him in one shot! No one even knew where it came from!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands with glee. Raven exchanged a glance with Akito. Neither of them had ever been able to understand the red head's happiness whenever she eliminated one of her targets.

Taking his mind off this Raven asked drawlingly, "What about Ruolang? Why isn't she hanging off my arm at the moment?"

"She's on assignment!" said Maylene cheerfully. Akito nodded silently before saying, "So, why the sudden and unannounced return Raven? Last time I checked, you aren't due back here for another week."

_Ah. Right to the point, _he thought nervously. He hesitantly looked into the two girls' eyes. He had known them for about five or six years and, well, he suppose he considered them to be his friends. They were trustworthy, right?

Taking a deep breath he said in a firm voice, "I have something I need to tell you both."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"You got a girl knocked up?" asked Maylene immediately. Raven made a choking noise, and, blushing furiously, shook his head frantically. Maylene giggled before Akito asked, "You're telling us something that you don't want Prozen to find out about, right?"

Raven turned to her, the blush fading, and nodded. Maylene immediately became serious. If it was something one of them were unwilling to tell their master, then it had to be really bad, either for them or for someone else. Akito made a gesture for him to explain, and so he told them about finding Moulin and how he had just followed his instincts and brought her back here.

"Are you sure bringing her _here _of all places, was such a good idea?" asked Maylene nervously. Raven shrugged and replied, "I didn't really know what to do. I thought you guys would have a few ideas."

"I **really** don't think bringing her here was a good idea Raven. She's an Ancient Zoidian. And you know how Prozen is with her kind." said Akito sharply.

"Yeah. Just remember what happened to Ruolang." said Maylene, frowning.

"He won't find her." said Raven firmly. There was a bit of silence. Raven looked at them both and sighed when he saw they were still uncertain.

"Come and meet her." he said, turning back into his room with them following closely. He opened the door to the veranda and stepped out. He looked around before calling quietly, "Come on! It's safe."

There was no reply. He looked around in confusion as the other two came outside as well. He called her a few more times, a feeling of dread creeping into his veins. She couldn't have been found, could she? Barely anyone came here, and everyone who _did _come came through the front door.

"So where is she?" asked Maylene, looking around. Raven shook his head and called out, "Moulin?"

"Yes?" came a voice right beside him, that made the three of the jump. Moulin was standing _right next to him. _She'd snuck up on them without any of them realising. And that was an achievement for anyone.

"Where were you?!" Raven snapped at her, "I called you about fifty times!"

"Aw. Were you worried about me?" she said with a grin.

_Don't start playing your games now, you little viper! _he fumed before saying aloud, "No. I was just worried that these two were going to start doubting the authenticity of my story if you didn't show up!"

"Don't listen to him. He was worried about you." Said Akito. Raven turned on her furiously, but Moulin stepped in before he could say anything.

"So, you two must be Raven's, uh, _coworkers..._" Moulin said grinning slightly. Akito smiled at what the other girl was hinting, bowed slightly and said, "I'm Akito, codename Sword Dancer. I'm the commander of the Guard Dogs."

"And I'm Maylene! Codename Heaven Eyes! I'm the Guard Dogs' sniper!" said Maylene cheerfully, waving for no apparant reason.

"Well, I'm Moulin. I don't have a codename. Or a role on the Guard Dogs. Whatever that is." said Moulin, shrugging.

"You haven't told her about what you do for a living?" said Akito, addressing Raven.

"I have, I just didn't go into specifics." said the boy grumpily. He was just about to say something more when they heard a knock at the front door. There was another knock before they heard, "Hey you two, open up! It's me!"

Raven, Akito and Maylene looked at each other in horror. Moulin glanced to each one of them, a confused look on her face.

The voice belonged to Prozen.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Without a word, Raven and Akito lunged forward and dragged Moulin inside. She started to complain but Akito put a finger to her lips and shook her head. Raven ripped open the cupboard and shoved the Zoidian inside, whispering, "Don't make a sound!"

He shut the door quietly while the other two ran out into the hall. Akito disappeared into her room while Maylene walked towards the front door, shouting, "Coming!"

Raven then shifted his features into what he hoped was a convincing replica of his normal frown and stepped out into the hallway. At the same time, Akito came out of her room, her face expressionless as usual. At the end of the hall, Maylene stood at the front door, talking to a man that was at least 3 feet taller then her. His hair was long and silver, and when he looked up at them, Raven could see that his eyes were a strange red colour. Gunther Prozen.

Prozen's eyebrows shot up when he saw Raven walking towards him.

"Raven! I didn't expect to see you here! Aren't you supposed to be heading to the Chronos Fortress?" asked Prozen.

"Didn't feel like going there right away." drawled Raven, putting on his usual I-am-bored-with-the-world attitude. Prozen shrugged and turned to Akito.

"Hello Akito. I have a mission for you, that's the reason of my visit today." he handed her a white sealed envelope and she took it and shoved it in her pocket without saying anything. Prozen paused for a moment before saying, "By the way... One of the soldiers told me that he thought he heard you three talking to someone a little before I got here."

Raven stiffened and his eyes flickered over to the two. A little crease of concern had appeared on Akito's forehead and Maylene was staring at her feet.

"Well whoever told you that better get his hearing checked because there was no one here." snapped Raven. Akito nodded and Maylene piped up, "Besides, we've just been in our rooms for the past two hours. We haven't really been speaking to each other."

Prozen looked at each of their faces. He narrowed his eyes a bit and said, "Very well. Akito, I expect you to be out on that mission by tonight. And Raven, you need to head out as well. I bid you all good day."

And with that he turned on his heel and strode out the door. As soon as the door closed, the three of them let out a simultaneous sigh of relief and collapsed against the walls.

"That," muttered Maylene, "Was close."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"We have to leave already?" asked Moulin quizzically after they let her out of the closet. Raven nodded and replied, "It was a close call with Prozen today. We can't risk it again."

"Speaking of which, you two should head off now. Prozen might get a little suspicious if you stick around too long." Said Maylene as Akito opened the door. With a short glance over her shoulder she said blankly, "Be careful. Bring Moulin back next time would you Raven? I'd like to get to know her."

And with that she strode out into the hallway, shutting the door behind her. Maylene smiled at them both before following the other girl. Raven and Moulin stood in silence for a moment before Raven murmured, "Come on. Time to go."

* * *

About an hour later, Moulin was staring over her shoulder at the retreating buildings of Guygalos as the Zaber Fang tore across the desert. The two organoids were following, sticking to either side of the zoid.

"It's a shame we couldn't stay longer to have a look around the city." said Moulin sadly. Raven grunted but otherwise didn't reply. Moulin was silent for a moment before asking, "Where are we going?"

"Chronos Fortress." replied Raven bluntly.

"I have no idea what that is."

"You know. The huge republican base."

"You must be thicker then I thought! I've been asleep for about a thousand years, remember?"

_Thick!? _thought Raven furiously, _That little viper! How dare she call me thick!_

Raven rounded on her quickly and started to snap at her, but then he caught sight of the grin on her face. She was trying to pry a reaction out of him again.

"Why do you do that?" he snapped at her. The frown faded from her face and she replied, "Do what?"

"You're constantly baiting me to get a reaction out of me. I just don't understand why you do it."

Surprisingly, she laughed. When he frowned at her she chuckled, "Oh Raven! You really _are _thick!" Raven chose to ignore this and gave her a look that told her to explain herself.

"Well," she said, still chuckling, "it's just that you're really amusing when you're frustrated! You amuse me, how about that?"

"I amuse you?" he replied, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah!" she then started giggling again. His look of surprise became a look of confusion.

"What?"

"It's just that," she giggled, "You look really cute when you're surprised!"

Raven whipped his head around to face the front, but not before Moulin saw his face had gone the colour of the setting sun.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The Chronos Fortress stood huge and forbidding in the valley. Raven, Moulin and the organoids stood on top of the cliff and stared down at it. Raven could just see soldiers running about through its windows. He frowned in confusion. He couldn't really see them that well, but he could swear he saw the soldiers packing things into crates. Like they were about to abandon the base.

"They're setting a trap." said Moulin suddenly. Raven turned to her in surprise while she continued, "And a basic one at that."

"How do you know?" asked Raven.

"Well, they're packing all their things into those crates, ready to move out. And also, they've got a line of zoids out the front of the fortress not doing anything, if it's my best guess, I'd say those are going to be used as decoys to lure the other side in close." Explained Moulin. Raven frowned and asked, "Lure them in close for what?"

Moulin gave him a little grin and simply said, "Kaboom."

Raven started. If she was correct, then the republican troops were going to blow up the base. And if that happened, the imperial forces would be decimated. He chuckled. How interesting. He then gave Moulin a sharp look. She was once again staring at the fortress with a look of vague amusement on her face. She had worked out the rebels entire plot in about three minutes, just by catching a few glimpses of things from afar. So, it was very likely that she was an assassin in her previous life after all. When Raven looked at her again, he couldn't help feeling impressed, and yes, he couldn't help feeling a bit of admiration towards this strange girl.

* * *

"Meet me behind that small building over there," said Raven pointing to the building in question, "And make sure you're not seen."

"Why can't I just come into town the way you do?" asked Moulin defiantly.

"Because this place is run by a guy called Marcus who's an idiot, but he's also annoyingly loyal to the minister. If he catches one glimpse of me with a strange girl and he'll go running straight to Prozen. And then not only are you dead but I'm dead too."

"Why are you dead?"

"Because none of the Guard Dogs are allowed to be in a relationship with anyone. Prozen says that it would downgrade our potential in battle."

"That's a bit stupid."

Raven shrugged and then opened the canopy. "Remember," he called down to her as she jumped out, "Stay out of sight and go straight to the building."

Moulin gave him a sort of mock salute before disappearing into some shrubbery with Mystery right behind her. Raven sighed and closed the canopy. He directed the Zaber Fang into the town and up its main street, where he parked it next to some Molgas. He opened the canopy and jumped down. Much to his annoyance, Marcus was there waiting for him.

"Excellent work as usual Raven," said Marcus, putting on an infuriating patronizing voice, "It'll be much easier for us to advance now thanks to you."

"It's not like I did it for you guys." replied Raven coldly, walking off down another street, Shadow jumping down from the Zaber Fang and following him. He could hear Marcus growling like an angry dog behind him and vaguely heard the major saying something like, "Who does that little punk think he is? He wouldn't be half as useful around here if he didn't have that organoid with him!"

Raven smirked and kept walking. That statement wasn't true and everyone knew it. Even Marcus, though he would never admit it. Shadow was only a fairly recent acquirement of Raven's, and only made the incredibly strong pilot stronger. Even before Shadow had come along, everyone had always feared the infamous Black Reaper.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Raven unlocked the front door of the building that was the Guard Dogs' residence when they came to stay. He stepped onto the threshold and quickly moved to the back of the house where there was another door. He unlocked that as well and poked his head out of it to check if there was anyone around. When he was convinced the place was deserted, he called out softly, "You can come in now."

Almost immediately, Moulin and Mystery scampered out from behind the water barrels they had been hiding behind and ran towards the door. The only thing was, Moulin was carrying something.

"What is _that_?!" spluttered Raven. The thing seemed to be some sort of mini aeroplane. Except it must've been very light because Moulin was holding it above her head with ease. It had two wings on either side of it which he could've stretched out on easily on either one. There were two handle bars on the main body which was very small. Raven doubted that two people could stand on it. The body seemed to have some sort of blaster built into it, no doubt for bursts of speed. Moulin was holding it above her head by two small handle bars on the underside of it. The whole thing, (with the exception of the blaster), was pure white.

"It's a glider." said Moulin happily. She moved forward to pass him but he blocked her.

"Where did you get it?" asked Raven, frowning.

"In the armoury building, over there." replied Moulin, nodding in the direction of the armoury. Raven almost choked.

"You were in the _armoury?!_" he hissed furiously. Moulin nodded calmly before saying, "Yeah. I was curious."

"I told you to come straight here! What if you had been seen?!"

"I wasn't, but I will be if we continue to discuss this right out in the open."

Raven hesitated before stepping aside. Moulin manoeuvred the glider inside, followed by Mystery, and Raven shut the door with a snap.

"Do you have somewhere I can hide this? I don't think that guy from the armoury will be too happy when he finds out this thing is gone." said Moulin. Raven sighed a gestured towards a large closet in the hallway. The two of them opened it and managed to jam the glider diagonally into it. The moment they had finished, someone started banging on the door. Raven frantically waved Moulin away, and she hastily moved out of sight. Raven plastered another scowl on his face, (which wasn't hard considering what that girl had put him through), and opened the door. It became even easier to keep the scowl on his face when he saw it was Marcus standing on the doorstep.

"Good evening Raven." said the major stiffly. _That haircut of his is really annoying, _thought Raven before saying out loud, "I believe I have already talked to you today, and I have no intention of doing it again." He moved to slam the door in the older man's face but, infuriatingly, Marcus held the door open.

"This will only take a minute! And besides, I am your superior, so you will-"

"Superior? I'm sorry, but when did you get promoted to the Guard Dogs?" interrupted Raven cruelly. Marcus looked like he was about to have a temper tantrum, but seemed to think better of it and said through gritted teeth, "I am simply informing you that we are on the look out for an item that was stolen from the armoury here. Have you seen it?"

"What exactly have I supposed to have seen?" Raven replied, keeping his tone and features bored.

"It is known as a glider. It looks like a small flying zoid."

"No, nothing like that around here. What's so important about it?"

Marcus hesitated before saying, "It's an ancient zoidian artefact found in some ruins not far from here. It was being sent to the capital to be studied."

_Ah, so that's how she knew what it was, _thought Raven sneering, before snapping out loud, "No I haven't seen it. So can you leave now?"

Marcus turned a dark shade of crimson before spinning on his heel and marching off into the darkness. Raven slammed the door and sighed with relief. He turned and walked down the hall calling out, "It's alright, you can come out now."

There was no reply. Snarling in frustration he marched into the kitchen... And saw a note on the table and read, **Gone for a walk. Be back in a bitsies.**

_WHAT THE HELL IS A BITSIES?! _screamed Raven in his mind as he tore off out the back door, with a confused Shadow hot on his heels.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Moulin moved silently through the shadow of a building on a street that branched off from the main street. Every now and then, she'd see a soldier patrolling or moving towards a building, which was, she guessed from the smell, the kitchens. There really wasn't much in this town. She supposed that most of the villagers had moved out when the army moved in, so there was no one to talk to. And because of the lack of shopkeepers, there was nothing open to look at. She sighed. She'd left Mystery back at the house so she didn't even have her organoid to talk to.

She was just moving around another corner when she felt the presence of someone behind her. Without thinking she kicked upwards and drove her foot into the other person's face. Whoever it was did a good job of not crying out. She was just about to bolt when a male voice hissed, "Wait!"

She cautiously looked up. There was a man standing behind her, clutching his nose. He looked to be a few years older than herself and Raven, and was dressed in an army uniform that was different from the other soldiers uniforms she had seen. When she looked up into his face he saw that he had brown hair and brilliant green eyes.

"I'm not going to hurt you." he said. She narrowed her eyes and hissed, "Who are you?"

"My name is Major Karl Liechien Schubaltz..."

"Are you going to report me to that other guy?"

The major frowned, "What other guy?"

"The guy that runs this place of course!"

The man blinked and then gave her a bitter smile before saying, "No, I wouldn't report you to him even if I had something to gain from it. After all, if I did, he would just take the credit for turning you in."

Slowly Moulin straightened, still giving him a suspicious scowl.

"What is your name?" he asked, obviously trying to brush away some of her hostility. She hesitated before murmuring, "Moulin."

"Well Moulin. You know that all villagers were asked to leave at least two weeks ago? This is a high risk military area, so, you really shouldn't be here at all."

Moulin gave him a wry smile, "Do you really think I'm a villager?"

"No. But I am curious. Who exactly are you?"

Moulin studied him closely. Could she trust this man? She had a feeling she could, but she also had a feeling that he had a strong sense of responsibility, and a strong sense of loyalty to his leader. No. She couldn't risk telling him that she had come here with Raven, and she most certainly couldn't risk telling him she was an Ancient Zoidian. So instead she offered him a mischievous grin and said, "I'm just an average pretty girl, passing through."

And with that she vanished into the shadows, not giving Schubaltz a chance to say anything more.


	16. Author's Note

Author's Notice

Phew! 15 chapters! Wasn't sure if I was going to make it this far in this story. But I will carry on until the very end! To anyone who is reading, I apologise if you haven't found the chapters very actioned-packed or anything. Don't worry, action will be coming in later chapters. Along with some romance...

Akito, Maylene and Major Schubaltz will be reappearing along with that bastard Prozen. I'm still trying to figure out when to introduce the fourth and final Guard Dog, known as Golden Darkness. She'll be appearing soon. Also, there will be encounters with Van and Fiona and the rest of them as well. As soon as I find the time to upload more chapters!

Just some story problems:

- Earlier on I accidently called Marcus a Captain. Kind of got my time zones mixed up.

- In chapter 9, mentioned someone called April. THERE IS NO APRIL! Meant to put Ruolang in there, but I think I was either zoning out or half asleep at the time.

Big thanks to my friend rarb246 who has helped by putting in a bit of her own input on the characters' personalities. Also, thank you to my reviewers. Please keep giving me feedback; I find it really helpful!

Thank you.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"So..." hissed Raven through gritted teeth, "I have been running around looking for you for the past two hours while you have been in here drinking _my _coffee and eating _my _food?"

"I was hungry. And thirsty too." replied Moulin light heartedly. She was sitting at the kitchen table with an empty bowl of canned soup in front of her and a mug of coffee in her hand. She had that mischievous grin on her face that she did so well. Raven felt like screaming but instead he managed to choke out, "Is there anymore coffee?"

Moulin made a gesture with her mug, pointing over to the stove where there was a still steaming kettle. He poured himself a mug and sat down across from Moulin, who studied him with a x-ray like gaze.

"Do you know a guy named Major Karl L Schubaltz?" she asked suddenly. Raven looked up at her sharply and snapped, "Why do you ask that?"

"No reason. I just ran into him while I was out walking."

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Shh. Don't worry, I didn't tell him anything about myself. Or the fact that you brought me here. So who is he? He seemed nice."

Raven frowned at her for a moment before saying, "He's more lenient then some of the other majors. But you can't break the rules around him. He has a sense of duty after all."

"Have you worked with him before?"

"Not really. Akito has though. From what I've heard from her they're quite fond of each other actually. That's probably why Prozen doesn't assign Akito to any missions that have anything to do with him."

Moulin was quiet for a moment before saying, "Are any of you... The Guard Dogs I mean... Are any of you actually related to Prozen?"

"No," replied Raven slowly, "He adopted us all."

"Well, I know that your coworker that I haven't met is an Ancient Zoidian, so she was probably orphaned when she was put into a capsule... But what about the rest of you. What's your stories?"

"Maylene's parents abandoned her when she was a baby in an alleyway in Guygalos," replied Raven flatly, "Akito's mother detested her and wanted her dead, but Akito's father protected her. When he died of an illness, her mother committed suicide and she ran away. That's when Prozen found her, after she had been arrested for trespassing on palace grounds."

"And what about you?" said Moulin softly. Raven tensed. He had tried not to think about his parents for five years now. He wasn't sure that he just wanted to let it all out yet. Suddenly, Moulin stood up, walked over to him and placed a hand over his. He flinched at her touch and stared at her incredulously as she murmured, "It's alright. You can tell me."

And before he could stop himself, he was saying to her, "My parents were zoid researchers. That's why I despise zoids, because they were always so busy with work that they were never able to spend time with me. When I was nine years old, they were murdered by an organoid. I don't know why. I was picked up by a republican unit, and the major of that unit was going to adopt me, but then... They found Shadow. And, Prozen also wanted Shadow, to be used as a weapon. The major of the republicans sacrificed himself to save his men and the village nearby. He... blew up his zoid. It was after the explosion that Prozen found me." Raven paused there, staring at his hands. "Death follows me around wherever I go. That's why I'm known as the Black Reaper."

He felt Moulin's hand on his face and he looked up at her. And she leant over and kissed him.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Raven froze in surprise. What was she doing? They had only known each other for a few days! And besides, it was forbidden for him to have a relationship with anyone. So why... Why was he kissing her back?

Slowly, she broke away and looked at him. He stared back at her.

"Why?" he murmured. She blinked and smiled a little before replying, "Because I felt like it."

She then sat back in her chair and murmured, "I remember something. A woman. And a man. The woman looks a lot like me, but... The man seems to act in the same way. I feel so happy, just being there with them. And then... There's fire all around us. A burning zoid nearby. The man's throat is cut. The woman tries to get me to run, but I don't want to leave her. She's impaled. Straight through the heart."

Raven was silent for a moment at hearing this before saying, "This man and this woman. Do you think they were...?"

"My parents? Yes, I think they were."

They both were silent. They simply stared at each other, enjoying the company of someone else who knows what it's like to loose loved ones.

* * *

Marcus peered in through the window carefully, hoping above all hopes that Raven and... the girl were too busy to notice him. A grin was creeping onto his face. Finally, he could make that little bastard pay for the constant barrage of disrespect and humiliation he threw Marcus's way.

The grin turned into a sneer. Why was it only those _kids? _Why couldn't the most loyal and well trained officers become part of the Guard Dogs. Why was it only those mere _children, _who could do whatever they wanted, however they wanted. No it wasn't fair. Time to change things.

Marcus crawled out of the sight lines of the house and strode off towards the building where he'd made camp. It was time to make a little report to Minister Prozen.


End file.
